Kareena Kapoor Khan turned 38 today and she has graduated from being a queen of overacting to a critically acclaimed actor. Also a style icon and a celebrated mom, Kareena is a complete package who continues to rule our hearts for her oozing confidence and enviable Instagram pictures with her girl squad.
While Veere Di Wedding did exceptionally well by entering the 100 crore club despite criticism, many of her underrated films need to be revisited.
Here are 5 Kareena Kapoor Khan films which deserve a second chance:
1.Asoka (2001)
Santosh Sivan’s Asoka is an epic historical drama that captures the journey of the Mauryan King Asoka (Shahrukh Khan) from being one of the most ambition conquerors in history to being a Buddhist monk. Kareena Kapoor plays Kaurwaki, the princess of Kalinga who falls in love with Asoka disguised as Pawan. The movie had a complex plot and showed a relationship between Asoka and Kaurwaki without much eroticism. Though this particular love sequence is a fictional one, much of the other historical facts have not been meddled with. Anu Malik’s music and Gulzar’s lyrics can be enjoyed independently however, at many junctions, the songs simple seem unnecessary.
Unlike recent period films like Bahubali, Padmavat and Jodha Akbar, the film performed averagely on box office, but was a major international grocer. Though we agree on the fact that the film could have done better justice to the historic transformation of Asoka from being barbaric king to becoming a man of faith, it is one film to revisit again.
Watch it here.
2. Chameli (2004)
Much before Pink talked about consent as a basic right for any human relationship including an interaction with a sex worker, Aman (Rahul Bose) is seen showing something similar in Chameli where he asks the police officer not to mistreat Chameli (Kareena Kapoor) just because she is a sex worker. A female-driven film, Sudhir Mishra’s directorial Chameli might have been received differently today, however it did not get its due share in 2004. Kareena is rustic, innocent, and strong as Chameli, the girl who has been forced into prostitution. She tries to speak in broken English and has made peace with her destiny.
3. Yuva (2004)
Kareena plays Meera in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva. It weaves around the story of three young couples and how their lives incidentally cross paths. Kapoor plays an opinionated yet affectionate girl opposite Vivek Oberoi. Their relationship develops organically on screen.
4. Dev (2004)
Govind Nihalani is known for making movies which are artistic and entertaining at the same time. Though Dev could not be considered as one of his best works, it deserves another chance in wake of films like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon and Kyon Ki.
Dev deals with cliched subjects like the Hindu-Muslim conflict, power dynamics between common man and the police department and communal violence. Along with actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri, the film is refreshing with Govind’s choice of casting Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan in the roles of Ahilya and Farhaan. Though Fardeen could not deliver as per expectations, Kareena acted well. The film had a complex and intriguing story-line, however, it bombed on the box office.
5. Kurbaan (2009)
Avantika Ahuja played by Kareena Kapoor in Kurbaan is a woman who is smart and intelligent. From a free-thinking and career-oriented college professor, her role dips into a somewhat traditional role after getting married to Ehsan Khan (Saif Ali Khan). As the film progresses, Avantika is seen as a voice of reason and peace in this story of love and betrayal. This is one film which is worth seeing again.
Written by- Rukmani Bakshi
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